


AI Love You

by asterial



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, One-Shot, Robot!Kenma, Robot/Human Relationships, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:26:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24290524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asterial/pseuds/asterial
Summary: Kenma was strangely uninterested in Kuroo, for someone that was literally engineered to be in love with him. Luckily, Kuroo didn't mind his defects.
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 11
Kudos: 64





	AI Love You

_You’ll thank me later,_ the note reads. Kuroo’s pointer finger feels sticky from where it presses on the pink post-it note. He still has his bag slung on one of his arms, gripping it with one hand. There are no lights on as he hadn’t bothered to turn them on, only the dull glow of the setting sun that had passed through the closed curtains, curious as to why a huge box that hadn’t been there before was standing in his kitchen like it was no one’s business. He supposes it was his fault that he gave Bokuto a spare key to his apartment. Then again, he has done many stupid things involving Bokuto, including the time he adopted a baby chick only to find it dead the next day.

(“It died because of the cold,” Bokuto had told him, a sympathetic hand on Kuroo’s shoulder.)

A more recent example, however, was the last time he went out with his best friend and drank one too many drinks, accidentally confessing he had been feeling lonely and wanted someone to go home to. It isn’t like that’s not true, although Kuroo usually kept that under wraps. The last time Kuroo had been in a relationship was in his second year of college, and that hadn’t ended too bad. He went through the usual stages of a break up, that’s for sure. For a while, all he wanted was to get Tsukishima back, but he soon realized that he’d only been with him because he was the only other non-straight guy he knew. In the end, they stayed as friends, and to this day he still calls Tsukishima over whenever they have time.

It still doesn’t give Bokuto the right to practically break into his apartment and dump whatever the hell this huge box contained in the middle of his kitchen. He knew that whatever it was, it was only gonna be trouble.

Kuroo stands in his awfully hot kitchen, forgetting to turn any ventilation on to inspect the box immediately. He scrunches the pink post-it note and throws it in the bin. He stalls for a while, not sure if he’s ready to open up the box, but eventually he moves to grab the cutter he hid in one of the drawers in his kitchen. The next thing he knows is that he’s crouching down in front of the box, cutter in his hand, trying to rip the box open. He does it gently, as he has no idea what was in the box anyway, and there was the word ‘fragile’ written in red, all-caps letters on the front of it. 

Kuroo nearly forgets to breathe when he opens the box because in it was a beautiful boy. His hair was long and dyed blonde except for its roots. The boy currently had his eyes closed, seemingly in a state of slumber although there were no signs that the boy was alive, aside from the pinkish tint on his cheeks, his chest wasn’t rising and falling to indicate that he was breathing. 

And that was when it hit him: his best friend had ordered him a robot boyfriend.

“What the fuck,” Kuroo says under his breath, reaching into the box to find anything that could make sense of this. He grabs a little book stuffed inside the box, suspecting it to be some sort of instruction manual.

Now, Kuroo had heard of robot companions. It was quite popular in Tokyo, being the center of all things tech-savvy. He knew about the stories of people finding love in these androids and how great life could be with them. He also knew about people who took advantage of these robots, since they were emotionless and weren’t people, they were used as toys. Kuroo didn’t like to think about what kind of things those people did with the robots. He grimaces in disgust whenever he thinks about it.

Kuroo takes his time reading the instruction manual, not wanting to deal with the actual robot in his kitchen just yet. It turns out that this particular robot was custom-made, courtesy of his best friend, although he was derived from the same software that L-type robots were usually made. L-type robots were probably the most in demand type of robots, being dubbed the ‘soulmate’ robot as their primary function was to act as a lover. Kuroo never thought he’d ever be in the position where he’d _own_ one, but there’s a first time for everything, right?

Kuroo stops reading the rest of the instruction manual when it starts to make his head ache. Instead, he glances over to the resting robot, then back to the manual, then back to the robot, until he gives up and lets out a big huff. He places the instruction manual on top of the kitchen island and crouches down to inspect the robot in the box. 

There’s almost no signs of him being a robot, except for the fact that he isn’t breathing. He doesn’t look metallic, and his smooth, brownish skin is completely identical to that of a human’s, although Kuroo’s quite sure he’s never seen anyone whose complexion is better than his. Robots _were_ made to be perfect, anyway. 

Kuroo has half a mind to close the box and return it to whatever company his best friend had bought it from and say, “No, thanks,” because, honestly, this is completely ridiculous. But the other half has Kuroo thinking that this may not be so bad. Robots are completely harmless, for now, anyways, and Bokuto had paid good money for this. It’d be a shame to just return it.

And, to be fair, Kuroo _had_ been quite lonely. Maybe a robot boyfriend isn’t such a bad idea.

Before Kuroo can even hesitate again, he reaches for the robot’s scalp, remembering that he read in manual that that’s where to press to turn the robot on. Gingerly, he presses a finger right in the middle of his scalp and Kuroo’s shocked his hair doesn’t feel like a wig, but feels quite soft. He has to fight the urge to run his fingers through it when he pulls away.

For a second, nothing happens. Perhaps, Kuroo did it wrong or maybe he hadn’t pressed hard enough? He tries to reach for the robot’s scalp again, but suddenly his eyes widen. Kuroo watches as his eyes turn light green for a split second before turning yellow, the tint almost looking like it’s spilling in his irises. 

As the robot stands, Kuroo falls on his butt, taken aback at the robot’s movements. Kuroo imagined him to move stiffly, like he hadn’t moved his limbs in years, but instead the robot has some sort of grace in his steps. Kuroo merely watches in awe as the robot moves to get out of the box. His hands gripping the box ever so lightly as he steps out. He looks around as if he were actually looking for something, biting his lip and furrowing his eyebrows. His long blonde hair starts to fall into his face as he moves his head from left to right until his eyes finally land on Kuroo. And Kuroo suddenly feels very, _very_ self-conscious.

The robot’s month forms a little ‘o’ shape as he spots Kuroo on the ground. And suddenly the robot is getting bigger and bigger, big enough that he clouds Kuroo’s line of sight. Kuroo starts to shift away from the robot, starting to get a bit disturbed by the whole situation. He stops, however, when one of those hands is offered to Kuroo. It’s then that Kuroo realizes that the robot hadn’t been getting bigger, he had been getting _closer_ to Kuroo, and right now he was helping Kuroo to get up.

“Oh,” he says dumbly. The robot's eyes are cat-like and pretty, staring him down. It's then that the robot smiles at him, ever so slightly.

For a moment, that’s all Kuroo can think about. His mind going haywire and replaying the way the robot had first looked at him. He doesn’t move, merely looking up at the angel disguised as a robot, until said angel shakes his hand in front of Kuroo’s face. It’s then that he remembers that he had fallen to the ground, in shock at the sight of the robot. 

Slowly, Kuroo grips the robot’s hand. It doesn’t feel at all what he expected it to be; synthetic and just plain fake, but instead, it’s warm and soft. Like a baby. When he finishes, he realizes how tiny the robot was compared to him, probably more than a head smaller

“Hi,” the robot greets him, and it’s the sweetest sounding voice Kuroo has ever heard. Sort of like honey, but in audio form. “Kenma's full name is Kozume Kenma. Kenma will be Kuroo Tetsuro's robot.”

⚘

Having a robot for a boyfriend is… exceptionally interesting.

 _“Have you taken him out for dinner yet?”_ Bokuto says from the phone. He’s in the middle of one of his spontaneous trips, this time he’s in India. Kuroo has no idea how he got there since he was in Spain not two days ago.

“Not really,” Kuroo says, standing in the middle of his local supermarket, one hand gripping a pack of instant ramen. He’s contemplating whether or not to get it since Kenma’s been devouring it ever since he learned robots could eat too. “Does cooking for him every night count?”

 _“That’s not taking him out,”_ Bokuto says, and Kuroo can just hear the downturn of his lips, _“I thought you’d at least taken him on a date by now. You’re supposed to be boyfriends.”_

“I could’ve,” Kuroo reasons, placing the packet of ramen in his basket, “Except I’m not really sure Kenma wants to.”

_“Kenma?”_

“That’s his name.”

_“You named him?”_

“No,” Kuroo denies, “He called himself that.”

 _“Robots can name themselves?”_ Bokuto says, _“I didn’t know they could do that.”_

“Well they _can_ ,” Kuroo sighs, walking forward in attempt to remember what he was supposed to buy next. “It seems like you don’t know much about robots, considering the fact that _you bought him_. How’d you even customize him?”

 _“Akaashi helped,”_ he can hear Bokuto shrug, _“He has a thing for sci-fi.”_

He can already imagine the chaotic scene; Bokuto picking random attributes for the robot (probably the reason why Kenma had long and blond hair) and Akaashi trying to keep the damage to a minimum.

“I’m not even surprised,” Kuroo says as he walks into the cereal aisle. Kenma’s taken a liking to Lucky Charms. “Was he the one responsible for making Kenma talk in third person?”

 _“Third person?”_ Bokuto parrots, _“We didn’t make him talk in third person.”_

Kuroo frowns, “Well he does,” he says, “He also doesn’t like it when I touch him.

 _“Wait,_ what _?”_ Bokuto exclaims, _“He’s supposed to be one of those soulmate robots, how’s that possible?”_

“Beats me,” Kuroo says, “Maybe that’s just a part of his system.”

 _“Or maybe something’s terribly wrong,”_ Bokuto reasons, _“You should call the company.”_

“I don’t think it’s that serious,” Kuroo says reasonably, “Maybe it’s because I just activated him. He’ll come around.”

 _“I hope he does,”_ Bokuto says, _“It’s about time you had a boyfriend.”_

Kuroo inwardly cringes. He doesn’t really like calling Kenma that.

“He’s more of a companion than a _boyfriend_ ,” Kuroo says, “Like, uh, non-platonic best friend?”

_“You’re not making much sense.”_

“Robot boyfriends don’t make sense,” Kuroo huffs. “I don’t even know if he likes me.”

 _“Oh, he likes you,”_ Bokuto says, _“He should. He’s literally engineered to like you. It’d make no sense if he doesn’t.”_

“He doesn’t really show it, if he does.”

_“That can’t be true.”_

But it was true. Kenma was cute, but Kuroo hardly felt like he was his boyfriend. It was almost as if the robot were immune to all things romantic.

The other day, Kuroo was introducing Kenma to the wonders of video games (which Kenma had taken quite a liking to) and he had a really long day. Kuroo was one of the members of a local volleyball team and he had been at practise all day. Kenma was surprisingly quite enthusiastic about the game he was playing. Kuroo, however, just wanted to fall asleep.

He hadn’t realized when he did it, but before he knew it, his head had fallen to Kenma’s side… and promptly fallen off the couch.

“Sorry,” the robot's low and uninterested voice rang. Kenma had flinched from the impact of Kuroo's head on his shoulder, causing Kuroo to fall off the sofa completely. "Kenma didn't realize Kuroo had fallen asleep. Does Kuroo want Kenma to—"

He hadn’t bothered to listen to the rest of Kenma’s apology, quickly mumbling an, “It’s okay,” and excusing himself to go to sleep. He told him to turn off the television when he was done, throwing the remote his general direction, and sleepily walking towards his bedroom. 

“Well, it _is_ true,” Kuroo sighs into his phone, “I’m not sure if it’s a part of his program or if he’s really malfunctioning.”

 _“Give it time,”_ Bokuto says, _“I’ll call Akaashi, see if he knows anything about it.”_

“Thanks,” Kuroo says, pushing his cart to the shortest line at the cash registers, “Call me when you reach Tokyol.”

 _“I will,”_ Bokuto promises, and Kuroo ends the call.

⚘

“Eggs,” Kuroo says as he stares at his fridge, “We need eggs.”

It’s been a few weeks and Kenma is busy doing one of the many hobbies he had picked up, trying (unsuccessfully) to finish a puzzle on the kitchen island. He frowns when he looks up at Kuroo. “Did Kuroo just talk to Kenma?”

“Huh,” Kuroo says as Kenma addresses him. He hadn’t even realized he was thinking out loud. “Oh, erm, no. But I’m gonna have to run to the store for a bit.”

Kenma looks away, almost looking embarrassed, as if that’s even possible. “But Kuroo just got back.”

“I know, but this is the only day this week I’ll be able to run to the store like this. I think we're gonna have a match coming up soon?”

Kenma averts his line of sight, pushing his chair back and forth absentmindedly. “Kenma doesn’t know,” he mumbles.

While it was true Kenma didn’t quite appreciate physical touch, it is also true that he practically craves Kuroo’s presence at all times. 

(“It’s because Kuroo is my human,” Kenma had explained it to him the other day.

“What?” Kuroo had replied, wincing as he accidentally hits his hand as he raises it from the table. “What does that mean?”

Kenma had just shrugged, “It means that Kenma is Kuroo's as well.”

Kuroo’s heart swelled.)

Kuroo sighs, but it’s mostly to hide his inner giddy because Kenma is just so _adorable_ when he’s sulky. His lips forming a petulant pout and his eyes looking down. If Kuroo didn’t know any better, he’d think Kenma was an actual human being because he was so expressive with these sort of emotions.

“You wanna come with?” Kuroo asks as compensation.

And that’s what brings Kuroo here; looking after a relentlessly curious Kenma practically gawking over everything.

“Kuroo, has Kenma played this game? Kenma all but shoves a copy of Doom Eternal up in his face. 

“N-No, I don't think I even have that at home,” he says as he grabs the game and places it down on the nearest shelf. He doesn’t want Kenma thinking he brought him here to buy him something.

He quickly maneuvers Kenma towards the eggs just to get this grocery trip over with. He looks around for the large sized eggs and finds one with a reasonable expiration date, then quickly dragging Kenma towards the check out before any detours can happen.

Kenma is still behind him as the transaction happens, his eyes are landing on whatever they can. He honestly looks like a cat, curious to whatever he lays his eyes on.

“Is Kuroo done now?” Kenma asks.

“Yeah,” Kuroo says, “Let’s get home.”

Kenma seems okay with that, nodding slowly. Kuroo notices that he's frowning so he hesitates for a second, but he starts walking nonetheless.

The walk back to the apartment is a silent one, the sound of their feet moving being the only thing that disturbs the silence. It’s when they reach the final block that Kuroo finally relents; he can only take so much of Kenma frowning.

“What’s wrong, Kenma?” he asks.

It seems to disturb Kenma from his thoughts, making him turn to Kuroo with wide eyes. “Oh, what?”

“You seem distracted,” he says.

“Oh,” Kenma says, chuckling under his breath, “Kenma thinks he’s just a little sad. Kenma’s never been out before and he’s going home already.”

And that’s when it hits him; he’s never taken Kenma outside before.

The epiphany makes him stop walking, and in turn, making Kenma stop as well.

“Kuroo? Is Kuroo okay?”

“Y-Yeah,” he breathes out. “Hey, you ever eaten ice cream before?”

As it turns out, no, Kenma has never eaten ice cream; his program doesn’t include it, but Kuroo thinks Kenma is adorable as he tries to lick the ice cream before it melts off his cone. Maybe he should’ve bought him a cup instead.

⚘

It takes a while for Kuroo to have a clear spot in his schedule before he can properly hang out with Kenma again. But when it happens, he decides to do it properly. 

_“By properly, you mean a date?”_ Bokuto asks him on the other line.

“ _Yes_ ,” Kuroo sighs, “Although I almost wish I didn’t.”

He can hear Bokuto move around, probably making himself comfortable, _“Alright,”_ Bokuto says, _“Tell uncle Bokuto what went wrong.”_

“I’m not calling you that,” Kuroo rolls his eyes. “And, well...”

He doesn’t even know where to start. He supposes the _real_ start was right here in the apartment, right when Kuroo informed Kenma of their plans for the night, to which Kenma replied with a confused frown, “What does Kuroo mean? Did Kuroo forget to make dinner? You should’ve told Kenma to make it himself.”

“No! No, Kenma, I’m taking you out on… a date,” he bashfully says.

There’s a moment of silence, until Kenma says, “What’s a date?”

That was the first red flag, although Kuroo hadn’t noticed it at the time. Instead he calmly explained it to him and handed him a nice pair of slacks and a pretty sweater Bokuto gifted him for his birthday. Of course, the sweater didn’t quite fit Kenma’s frame, Kuroo being bigger than Kenma. Nevertheless, Kenma still managed to look nothing less than perfect. Kuroo supposes robots were engineered to be that way.

The second (missed) red flag happened in the restaurant while he and Kenma were ordering. Kuroo had planned on getting a spaghetti platter, as it was always a secret ambition of him to recreate that scene in Lady and The Tramp, although Kenma had waved him off saying, “Kuroo won’t be able to finish all of that spaghetti. Kuroo should order something else.”

“Well, I thought we could share it, Kenma.”

“Share? Isn’t Kenma gonna have his own meal to eat?”

Deflated, Kuroo says, “Oh, uh, r-right.”

He ended up with a plate of carbonara, and Kenma with a plate of chicken.

The third red flag (and only red flag he noticed at the time) happened as they were walking home, just as Kuroo was reaching for Kenma’s hand, the robot decided he should cross his arms.

“That was a really nice meal, Kuroo. Kenma had a really nice time,” Kenma commented, a content smile on his lips.

“Really? Well good for you,” he says, unmistakingly bitterly, although he definitely didn’t mean for it to be.

Kenma seems to hear the hostility in his voice, frowning as he says, “Did Kenma do something wrong?”

Kuroo stops walking as he sighs, “No, you didn’t do anything wrong, Kenma.”

Kenma doesn’t seem all too convinced, “But Kuroo doesn’t seem pleased at the evening at all.”

It’s then that Kuroo lets himself burst, like a dam exploding and flooding into the unsuspecting streets. Did he order wine? What’s gotten into him?

“Aren’t you supposed to be a soulmate robot? Huh, Kenma? What’s up with you dodging any and all of my advances to do anything _remotely_ romantic with you? _God_ , I was just about to hold your hand right there and you just so happened to cross your arms. What, are you allergic to romance? Or am I just _that_ unloveable that a robot that’s _literally engineered_ to fall in love with me, _isn’t fucking falling in love with me_?”

Perhaps Kuroo was a little more lonely than he thought, seeing as he was lashing out on a _robot_.

He honestly didn’t know what to expect. Maybe a little crying, maybe a little anger. But he definitely didn’t expect Kenma to tilt his head to the side, his signature frown on his lips yet again as he says, “Kuroo… what is love?”

Bokuto all but bursts into laughter on the other line as he finishes his story, not in the least bit pitiful for Kuroo.

“Yeah, yeah laugh all you want,” Kuroo rolls his eyes, turning to turn on his lamp in his room and walking over to the lightswitch to turn off the lights. “God, I couldn’t even explain it to him. I just told him that we should just go home.”

 _“I can imagine that it was a very difficult situation for you,”_ Bokuto snickers, _“Did he bug you about it after?”_

“Oh, _definitely_. God, he wouldn’t stop asking about it all the way home. He only stopped when I told him I was too tired and that I’d tell him in the morning. Guess I’m getting up earlier to avoid going through that.”

 _“Even if you did, he’ll ask you again eventually, you know_ . _”_

“Well, that’s a problem for future Kuroo, I guess,” he says as he lies down on his bed, turning on loud speaker and setting his phone next to him, too lazy to keep it held up against his ear.

 _“Maybe you should call the company where he’s from,”_ Bokuto suggests. _“This is definitely a mistake on their end.”_

“Meh,” Kuroo shrugs, “I’m not too concerned. I honestly think Akaashi’s behind all this.”

 _“Whatever you want. I mean, I’d be happy to call them for you since I_ am _the one who bought him.”_

“I’ll think about it. I’m gonna turn in now, night Bokuto.”

_“Night, Kuroo.”_

He falls asleep just as soon as he turns off his lamp.

⚘

Kuroo is running late the next day. He had set an alarm for five p.m. instead of five a.m. and he had woken up to one of his team members incessantly calling him. When he woke up he had already seven missed calls from the guy. 

“Kenma!” Kuroo calls as he opens his bedroom door. His sling bag is starting to choke him, probably because he just threw it on without any care of where it landed. The strap is starting to make his neck itch. “Kenma!” he calls again.

“Kuroo?” Kenma says from inside the kitchen. “Is Kuroo ready for breakfast? Kenma made eggs.”

It shocks Kuroo how Kenma seemingly forgot about their conversation the night before, but he counts his lucky stars that he did.

Kuroo smiles apologetically as he peaks inside the kitchen, “Sorry Kenma, I gotta get to work if I want the team to spare my life.”

At that, Kenma’s head tilts, “Kenma thought Kuroo was friends with the team? Why would they have to take Kuroo’s life? That’s illegal.”

“What?” Kuroo blurts, “ _No_ —I mean—They won’t _actually_ kill me, i-it’s a, uh, joke.”

“A joke?” Kenma frowns.

“Yeah,” Kuroo replies, “Harmless.”

Kenma plays with the plate of eggs in front of him, biting his lip, “If Kuroo says so…”

Kuroo _should_ just walk out the door and get to work, but Kenma’s looking down at the stack of pancakes as if a puppy had died on it. So, Kuroo walks back into the kitchen, approaching Kenma.

“Hey,” he says, raising a hand to place it on Kenma’s cheek, “I’m thankful you made me breakfast and I’m sorry for not being here to eat it. I’ll make it up to you ‘kay?”

“Kenma thought we could—”

“Goodbye Kenma!”

Before he can stop himself, he presses a light kiss on Kenma’s cheek and before Kenma could react, he rushes out the apartment.

Unbeknownst to Kuroo, Kenma stood still as if frozen, forgotten eggs burning in the background, his little fingers pressed against the soft spot on his cheeks where Kuroo’s lips had just grazed.

⚘

Kuroo avoids any and all of Kenma’s advances for talking about what happened on their date (if he can even call it that), but that proves to be an easy task seeing as his schedule has become quite hectic now that the game is coming up. Now, he was training nonstop.

The only free time he has comes in a few days, and when it does, one Akaashi Keiji decides to grace Kuroo with his presence.

“I think you should get rid of him.”

Kenma is playing on the Switch from where he sits on the couch. Akaashi is looking over at him from the kitchen island, talking to Kuroo without even looking at him. Kuroo almost doesn’t hear him when he talks. Kuroo had decided to call Akaashi the other day when he found out that he’d have this day off and asked him about Kenma’s behaviour, to which the younger immediately demanded that he come over to see Kenma in action. He, much to Kuroo’s surprise, apparently had no hand in making Kenma the way he is now. He mostly just meddled with the boy’s appearance and nothing else.

“Wait, _what_?” Kuroo stops in his ministrations. He was in the middle of boiling water for the ramen they were gonna eat for dinner. “Weren’t _you_ the one who bought me him?”

It’s then that Akaashi turns to Kuroo again, “It’s Bokuto-san that paid for ‘im. And, besides, he’s malfunctioning, you should probably send him back." 

Kenma has fallen asleep from where he sits on the couch, his lips left agape ever so slightly. He looks adorable.

“Maybe. What happens if we send him back, anyway?” Kuroo asks.

"He'll probably be ripped apart and built again. Though they'll probably give you a brand new one."

Kuroo wonders if it's worth the hassle. “I'll think about it. Now, why don’t you make yourself useful and make the ramen for us.”

Kuroo forgoes to ignore Akaashi's grumbles of, “I’m the guest why should _I_ have to make the food,” and approaches Kenma on the couch. 

He doesn’t waste time on staring at Kenma although the better part of him is telling him to do so. Instead he shakes him awake, taking care to be gentle until the robot startles awake.

“Ku-Kuroo? Is Akaashi-san still here, or did Akaashi-san leave already?”

“No, Kenma, he’s making us dinner. If you wanna sleep in the meantime, you might wanna move to your bed, though,” Kuroo says, already gathering Kenma in his arms to help him stand up.

Kenma groggily nods as he accepts Kuroo’s hands. The robot leans against Kuroo the entire way to the bedroom, and he surprisingly isn’t all too heavy. He’s already nodding off again before they even get to his bed.

“What’s gotten you so tired?” Kuroo asks. “You don’t even leave the apartment.”

“Kenma’s batteries haven’t been charged in a few days. Kenma forgot to charge because he was too busy terraforming.”

Kuroo actually scoffs, settling him down on his bed. He didn’t even turn on the lights as he entered.

“Yeah, you enjoy that, don’t you?”

“Kenma found it very interesting, however, it is mostly stressful.”

Kuroo chuckles as he tucks Kenma in, “Yeah, it sort of is. Do you want me to wake you up for dinner?”

“Kenma doesn’t need to eat to live.”

“Yeah, but I’d be nice to have you around for dinner.”

Kuroo waited for a while for a reply before he realized Kenma had already fallen asleep. He sighs as he exits the bedroom, going towards the kitchen to see what Akaashi was up to.

Instead of seeing Akaashi hunched over the stove, he sees him leaning against the kitchen counter with a smug smile on his face.

“You’re already whipped for him aren’t you?” he says, and all Kuroo wants to do is wipe the smirk off his face.

He doesn’t reply properly, instead he sends him a glare and says, “The ramen’s gonna burn if you cook it too long.”

As Kuroo exits the kitchen, he just barely hears Akaashu say, “It’s okay, I like it overcooked,” and turns to the stove once again.

Kuroo fights the urge to walk back into Kenma’s room, that would only feed Akaashi's ego.

⚘

Things turn… weird. Weird, in the sense that things haven’t changed all that much but still feel quite different. Kenma is, right now, lying horizontally on the couch, small fingers gripping a throw pillow as he watches some shoujo anime on the television. He doesn’t talk to Kuroo a lot these days, only sparing him the occasional, “Hello,” or, “Good morning,” and nothing more. Kuroo would be concerned, except he honestly expected as much. 

Kuroo’s phone rings and he has to fetch it from across the room, on the kitchen island, and when he does retrieve it, he’s met with an unknown number.

“Hello?” Kuroo greets, only half a bit suspicious.

 _“Good morning. May I speak to Kuroo Tetsuro?”_ a female, almost automated-sounding voice replies, making Kuroo’s confusion grow even more.

“Uh…,” he looks towards Kenma, and he’s still there, lying on his side, watching his show, unbothered. Kuroo then hops on the kitchen island, starting to swing his legs back and forth. “Speaking. Who is this?”

_“Ah, yes. Good day, Kuroo-san. This is Furudate Bots and we were told by Bokuto Kotaro that you have problems concerning your android.”_

“O-Oh, is that so?” he replies. From where he’s sitting, he can see Kenma’s face contort into some sort of confusion as he watches the television. He can hear what he thinks are two characters confessing to each other. “What did he say?”

_“He mentioned that your L-type Robot has a few bugs, one of them including only being able to speak in third person, is this correct?”_

“Uh, yes,” Kuroo says, not really paying attention to the lady speaking on the phone.

_“We’ve also been told that your L-type Robot lacks certain customised features you requested, including the clingy trait and the affectionate trait.”_

“Well, y-yes,” Kuroo blushes. God, why’d Akaashi let Bokuto customise Kenma?

_“I see. Well, we are terribly sorry for the inconveniences the android may have caused you, Kuroo-san.”_

“Oh, that’s—,” Kuroo’s voice trails as Kenma stands up from his comfortable position on the couch, seemingly about to approach Kuroo on the kitchen island, “—that’s fine.”

_“We’ll be happy to give you a refund or perhaps a replacement to compensate.”_

Kenma is suddenly standing right in front of him, a determine look on his face as he says, “Kenma loves you.”

“What?” Kuroo accidentally says out loud, forgetting to cover the mic on his phone.

 _“A refund, Kuroo-san? Or a replacement? It’s all your choice,"_ the lady’s voice fades in the background as Kenma starts to inch even closer towards him.

“That’s what Kuroo wants Kenma to say to him, yes?” 

The android has his hands splayed on Kuroo’s thighs, chin tilted up towards Kuroo’s face.

“O-Oh,” Kuroo says.

_“Yes. We assure you we do not make androids of the same degree as the one sent to you usually. We hope for your kind consideration.”_

Kenma is all too close to Kuroo now, too close that it’s bad for his health.

“And you want me to do this—”

Kenma kisses him, smack on the lips, in the middle of his kitchen where he’s perched on the kitchen island and Kenma is squeezing himself in between his legs to properly close their distance. It isn’t a spectacular kiss, not that Kuroo expected it to be, seeing as Kenma was, well, _Kenma_ , and he’s merely pressing his pursed lips against Kuroo’s. His lips are soft and warm, not at all synthetic like the way he (hadn’t realized he’d) imagined. Kuroo can still barely hear the lady talking to him on the phone, her voice tuned out as his heartbeat grew rapidly quicker and marginally louder. 

As Kenma pulls away, Kuroo is greeted with a slightly dazed Kenma, probably wondering if what he did was right. The android still has his hands on Kuroo’s thighs, lips parted, and head tilted. Kuroo can’t help but stare at Kenma’s agape mouth and it felt so soft and _warm_ against his own, already itching to latch his lips on the android’s again and kiss him properly. God, when was the last time he kissed someone?

_“Kuroo-san? Kuroo-san? Are you still there?”_

The lady’s voice shakes him out of his stupor, making him come back to reality where Kenma is still helplessly frowning in front of him. 

“U-Um, yes,” he says, “I’ll think about it. Thanks.”

Forgetting his manners, he hangs up, too distracted by Kenma and the android biting his lips. He sets his phone at his side.

“Was that right, Kuroo? Did Kenma do the right thing?”

Hopeful eyes are what look up to him, and they make Kuroo weak in the knees.

“Y-Yeah,” Kuroo stutters. 

“Really?” Kenma all but lights up, his full smile on display. “Kenma did good?”

The sight of the android makes Kuroo chuckle, a hand involuntarily rising up to pet Kenma’s hair.

“You did great, Kenma,” he says with a smile.

Kenma smiles shyly, nodding at Kuroo as he then places his hands on Kuroo’s shoulders, but before Kenma could lock their lips together again, Kuroo stops him.

“Woah, woah,” Kuroo internally panics, “It’s alright, you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.” 

Kenma deflates, “But does Kuroo like it?”

Kuroo blushes at the question. Kenma was gonna be the death of him.

“O-Of course,” he cringes as he answers.

Kenma seems convinced enough, nodding at himself again as he says, “Good,” and walks away as if he hadn’t left Kuroo’s world crumbling down.

He needs a drink.

⚘

_“So you’re telling me that Kenma’s in love with you now?”_

“No, he’s just—”

Bokuto’s laugh rings through the phone like a bird tweeting in the morning; loud and annoying.

“ _Bokuto_ ,” Kuroo warns.

 _“Okay!”_ he exhales, _“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,”_ he continues.

Kuroo huffs, glancing towards Kenma. It’s not the first time he’s gone out with him, but it’s the first time Kenma’s been like… _this_.

“Kuroo!” the robot calls, his eyes wide. He’s gesturing something out of Kuroo’s vantage point that Kuroo has to walk closer to him just to see what he’s pointing at.

 _“I mean,”_ Bokuto starts, _"Isn’t this a good thing?”_

Kuroo finds Kenma crouched down, a hand stretched out to pet a small cat. 

“Kenma has found a cat,” he says blandly although his cheeks are puffed up and red, it makes Kuroo nearly swoon.

“Maybe,” Kuroo replies to Bokuto, ”Kenma, don’t touch the cat.”

He doesn't say it fast enough, however. He can see Kenma flinch his hands away from the cat as it hisses at Kenma then promptly run away. 

"It scratched Kenma," the android says, bringing up his hand to examine the damage.

"Ah, fuck. I'll talk to you later, Bokuto," he says, hanging up before his friend can respond. "Kenma, you alright?"

"Kenma is fine. Robots can get hurt but they do not develop illnesses, if Kuroo was worried about that," he says, not looking up at Kuroo, busy trying to stop his finger from bleeding.

Kuroo knew that much, figured that the blood was probably more for show than anything. To make this experience more _authentic_ or something like that. 

"Let's get a bandaid on that," Kuroo says, pulling Kenma to sit on a nearby bench. 

He pulls the plasters out from his bag, gently gripping Kenma's hand.

"Does Kuroo always bring bandaids?" 

"Yep," he responds, wrapping the bandaid around the small cut, "You never know when you'll need it, after all."

Kenma hums, slowly retracing his hand from Kuroo's grasp, examining his work. 

"This can be fixed then?"

"Huh?" Kuroo responds, confused. "Well, it's just a small cut."

Kenma nods, putting his hand down and looking up to face Kuroo. 

"Kenma.. can get fixed?"

Kenma's yellow cat-like eyes are looking up at Kuroo blankly, his words a direct reflection of what he really feels. The thing about Kenma is, and Kuroo isn't sure if this is a part of his defects, is that he doesn't filter his words. Kenma had no idea how to sugarcoat anything so Kuroo's not quite sure how to respond to his words. 

"I—Yeah, of course," he says instead. 

Kenma doesn't respond with words, only nodding and looking away from Kuroo. 

"Why don't we head home?" Kuroo breaks the silence, standing up.

Kenma follows suit, grabbing Kuroo's hand, another thing he had learned, much to Kuroo's embarrassment (and delight). 

"Okay."

Well, that was _weird_.

⚘

"Kuroo."

It's late and Kuroo's supposed to be sleeping. He has a game tomorrow and he doesn't want to get there half-asleep.

" _Kuroo_."

But that's Kenma's low and bored voice calling out to him, and hell if Kuroo's ever been able to resist giving Kenma anything.

He squints his eyes open, groaning as he sits up to see the faint outline of Kenma's body approaching him. 

"What is it, Kenma?"

The robot's fiddling with his hands, looking away from Kuroo as he speaks again.

"C-Can Kenma… sleep with you?"

Kuroo all but freezes, gawking at Kenma's shy demeanour. He blinks twice, not exactly sure if what he heard was right, so he asks again.

"W-What?" he croaks, his voice still laden with sleep.

"Kenma wants to sleep with Kuroo," he says, this time more sure of his words. 

Kuroo's too tired to think of a logical explanation for this.

"O-Okay," he chokes, moving to make room for Kenma.

He doesn't know what he expected, but he definitely didn't expect for Kenma to wrap his arms around Kuroo's back, burying his face in the middle of his shoulder blades. 

He doesn't close his eyes, physically unable to fall asleep because of Kenma's hot breath against his back. God, why did he choose today, of all days, to sleep without a shirt on?

Kenma doesn't seem to be falling asleep, either. Kuroo can feel his breath moving up, towards his neck. Kenma pauses, rubbing his fingers against Kuroo's belly for a second, before placing a small, soft kiss on his nape.

It's an innocent gesture, one Kuroo has no idea why Kenma felt the need to do, but nevertheless it makes him blush profusely. 

"Kenma?" Kuroo whispers, afraid to ask. He turns around to see Kenma in a similar state to him, red and embarrassed by his own actions.

"Why did you—"

He gets cut off by a pair of lips crashing against his. It's awkward and harsh, he can feel Kenma's teeth graze over his lower lip. It makes him pull away, but his efforts are for nothing, as Kenma uses his hands to direct Kuroo's face towards his, delicately pulling his jaw so that Kenma can kiss him again, just the way he likes it. And hell if Kuroo can pull away this time.

He closes his eyes, taking in the pair of lips against his. Robots are ironically very soft, in every aspect of their body. It's scarily similar to the feeling of kissing an actual person, although Kuroo would admit, hasn't happened to him in a while. It catches him off guard when Kenma opens his lips, slipping his tongue into Kuroo's mouth. He kisses slow and deep, curious and inviting. Kuroo can feel his inexperience through the kiss, but it is nonetheless enjoyable. Kenma's lips feel just _perfect_ against his, he can't find the words to explain it. He likes it enough to start to take control, placing a hand on Kenma's jaw and maneuvering him in a way that Kuroo's leading the kiss, playfully exploring Kenma's mouth with his own tongue. The movement seems to surprise Kenma, making him let out a small gasp. Kuroo finds it absolutely adorable, causing him to smile into the kiss.

Kenma decides to place a leg over Kuroo's body, pressing his weight on him so he's effectively on top of him. He pulls away from the kiss for a moment, straddling Kuroo and tucking his hair behind his ear. When he presses back again, he seems a lot more sure of his actions, taking the lead again and mimicking Kuroo's previous actions. That seems to be the way he learns all of these things, by copying off of other people. If that's true, then Kuroo has no idea where Kenma learned to splay his fingers atop Kuroo's abdomen, lightly touching his exposed skin before travelling further south.

" _Kenma!_ " Kuroo exclaims, sitting up and grabbing ahold of Kenma's hand before he could do anything else. 

Kenma, the poor thing, looks mostly confused. He still has a light blush on his face and his chest is still rising and falling from being out of breath.

"What are you doing?" he asks, letting go of his grip on Kenma's hand. 

Kenma frowns, "Is this not what Kuroo wants?"

"I—what made you think _that_?" Kuroo says exasperatedly. He gently moves Kenma so that he sits next to him and not on top of him ( _god_ ) and stands up.

"Kenma is confused. This is what people do when they are in love, yes?"

Kuroo only grows more confused from that. 

" _What_?"

"They sleep together. Kenma thought it was quite weird that sleeping together meant sex but I thought that this was what Kuroo wanted."

Kuroo groans, rubbing his face with his hands. So, _that's_ what he meant. 

"You—My _god_ , Kenma, I do not want to have sex with you."

"Kuroo doesn't?"

"I— _No!_ "

Kenma seems to understand, putting his head down in silence. He merely grips the blanket pooled around his legs.

Kuroo sighs. He can't do this right now.

"I'm gonna sleep in your room tonight," he says, unable to deal with Kenma right now. "Good night."

He leaves the room without hearing Kenma's reply.

⚘

Kuroo's distracted, undoubtedly so. He's been messing up his serves this entire warm up and he still can't find the right mindset to get in before the game. He's been like this ever since this morning. He and Kenma had hardly talked to each other, the former barely acknowledging his existence.

He decides to sit down for a moment, checking his phone for any missed messages.

**bokuto**

u mind if i borrow ur copy of smash?

Kuroo texts back.

alright. just make sure i don't regret giving you my spare key

He gets up again, antsy and unable to stay still for too long. He gets another ball to serve and—

Kuroo sighs, staring at the ball he had just served that landed outside. 

He supposes things were bound to get awkward after last night. He had rejected Kenma's advances, after all. Although up until now he has no idea what caused Kenma to do anything like that in the first place. 

Ever since they had kissed, Kenma had been obsessed with doing things like that, a stark contrast to what he was like the first time he was out of the box. What caused him to kiss him that first time, however, is still a complete mystery to him. 

"Oy, Kuroo!" one of his teammates called out. "It's time to line up!"

"Okay!" Kuroo exclaims. 

Whatever. He'll deal with this later when he gets home. Kenma's been an enigma ever since he got him so he's pretty much used to dealing with these sorts of things.

"You alright, Kuroo?" Yaku, one of his teammates, asked. "You seem out of it."

Kuroo scratches his head, "Does it seem that way?" he asks, "It's nothing, I'll be alright."

Yaku doesn't seem all that convinced, but they hear a whistle blow before he could pry any further.

Kuroo needs to calm down.

⚘

They had won, thankfully. After a few flimsy attempts at getting into the rhythm of things, Kuroo had eventually started playing like his usual self. 

"Kuroo!" Yaku had called for him again, "Coach is gonna treat us for dinner, you comin'?"

"Ah, sorry. I don't think I can," he replies.

Kuroo thought it was best to return home immediately to talk things out with Kenma rather than stay out to avoid it altogether.

He bids farewell to his teammates and starts to head home.

What was Kenma even thinking last night? It wasn't like Kuroo ever showed signs of him wanting to do anything sexual with Kenma. Unless, he had? Sex was the last thing on his mind when he received Kenma. He hadn't even thought about it. Yet, there Kenma was, kissing Kuroo like he wanted to suck the life out of him and straddling him. Dear _god_.

He shakes the image of Kenma on top of him away. He decides that he best not think about this while Kenma isn't here to talk to him about it, lest he go crazy trying to wrack his brain for answers he knows he can't find himself.

Instead, he takes a detour to the convenience store near his apartment to buy that ice cream Kenma really liked, the one that wasn't too sweet. He supposes this will help Kenma ease up to him, unlike he was this morning.

He had been so stiff it almost looked like he reverted to his robot instincts. He only responded by nodding and shaking his head, and if he had to talk he would keep his words direct and short. Kenma had already spent most of his time on the Switch but Kuroo knew when he was being ignored. 

He supposes rejecting Kenma did a lot more damage than he thought. Maybe he really wanted to do it?

Kuroo shakes his head. Impossible, Kenma didn't even feel anything romantic towards him, let alone anything sexual. He was most likely upset by the way Kuroo rejected him more than anything. He'd have to give him a better explanation when he gets home.

"Kenma!" he calls when he walks in the apartment. 

Strangely, all the lights are closed. Usually Kenma would turn them on when it became dark outside. He guesses the robot had just stayed in his room all day. He regrets only buying ice cream for him now, thinking about how he most likely didn't eat dinner. Except he remembers robots don't need to eat, which he supposes is fine.

When he reaches Kenma's room, he isn't there either.

"Huh?" he says out loud. He peeks his head out the door, "Kenma!" he calls out to the rest of the apartment.

No response.

That prompts him to search for Kenma in the rest of the apartment only to no avail. Kenma couldn't be found anywhere.

"Fuck," he says, grabbing his phone and dialIng Bokuto's number.

" _Hey, Kuro—"_

"Was Kenma here when you stopped by the apartment?" he skips the greeting, he was far too distraught for pleasantries.

" _Huh? Yeah, he was why—"_

"He's not here," Kuroo says, in disbelief of his own words. "He—Bokuto, he's _missing_."

Kuroo can feel his throat start to close up and his eyes swell.

"Kenma's _gone_."

⚘

He admits, he might be overreacting. Kenma wasn't a very active robot, so he probably hasn't gotten too far from the apartment. At least, Kuroo hopes he hasn't. He's been running non-stop around the place trying to spot the robot but he's thus been unsuccessful. 

He stops for a second, leaning his hands on his knees just to catch his breath. Where could he _be_?

"Kuroo!" he hears Bokuto call out to him.

"You alright?" he hears Akaashi's voice.

Kuroo looks up at his friends, both wearing a worried expression.

" _Bokuto_ ," Kuroo says, still out of breath, "No—Kenma's lost and it's _my_ fault, and I can't find him _anywhere_."

Bokuto bites his lip in confusion, "A-Alright. It's gonna be fine, we'll find him."

Kuroo shakes his head, in disbelief of the situation. How could this happen?

"We should call the place we got him from. I'm sure they have some sort of tracker on Kenma. We'll get ahold of him there," Akaashi says, seemingly the only one who can think straight right now.

Kuroo swallows, "Right, okay."

He fumbles with his phone, hands shaking as he dials the company's number.

" _Hello, this is Furudate Bots. How may I help—"_

" _Where_ is Kenma?"

Bokuto promptly snatches his phone from his grasp, handing it over to Akaashi to handle. 

"Hello. Sorry, is this Furudate Bots?" Akaashi speaks into the phone as Bokuto tries to calm Kuroo down in the background.

" _U-Um, yes_ ," the person on the line speaks. " _How may I help you?"_

"Uh," Akashi scratches his cheek, looking over at the distraught Kuroo, still in disbelief of the situation himself. "Our robot has gone missing, is there any chance you could help us find him?"

" _I see. Would you mind answering a few details about your android?"_

"I-It's not mine. He's under the name Kuroo Tetsuro."

" _Just a moment please_ ," he hears trying from the other line, "Is your android's name Kozume Kenma?"

"Yes," Akaashi says in relief. "Is there any way you can get a hold of him?"

" _He seems to be moving, sir. I could text you his current coordinates but he could very well be gone from there once you reach him."_

"Okay, just give us what you can," Akaashi says.

" _Would you like us to text this number or do you have another device?_ "

"Just text this one, please."

" _Alright, sir. We'll send a message right away._ "

"Thank you so much," Akaashi says, hanging up. "They'll send us Kenma's location, but we gotta hurry, he's moving," he tells the two. 

Kuroo calms down a bit more after hearing that. Although he's still confused as to why Kenma had up and left in the first place. 

"That's great," Bokuto says, "It'll be alright, Kuroo. We'll get him."

Kuroo shakes those thoughts away. It doesn't matter for now, all he wants is to find Kenma and take him home again.

Kuroo's phone lights up in Akaashi's hand, signalling that he had received a text message. They move as soon as Akaashi dictates the location.

"I'll go to Furudate Bots' HQ so I can track Kenma and tell you guys where he is. In the meantime, get to the place. I'll text you when I get there," Akaashi tells them and he parts.

Kuroo and Bokuto waste no time on getting there, reaching the place Akaashi had mentioned in record time. Although, as expected, Kenma was already gone.

"I just don't get it!" Bokuto voices, "Why would Kenma just _leave_ like that? And without telling you?" 

Kuroo knows Kenma had been weird the entire day, stiff and awkward around Kuroo most likely because of what happened last night. He just didn't think Kenma would _run away_.

"Fuck if I know?" Kuroo lets out, "He was avoiding me all morning, too."

"Avoiding you?" Bokuto parrots, "Kenma did that?"

"Yeah," Kuroo replies. "Did he say anything when you stopped by?"

"Not that I remember," Bokuto says, "I did talk to him about you maybe taking him somewhere for repairs."

"Repairs?" Kuroo repeats.

_Kenma… can get fixed?_

"Shit," Kuroo says and he runs.

He ignores Bokuto's calls for him, mind unable to think about anything but _Kenma, Kenma, Kenma_ , and how he didn't even realize the robot had so many thoughts in his head.

Kuroo should've known, should've noticed it beforehand about how Kenma knew a lot more than he let on. Kenma had heard his conversations with his friends, the phone call with the person from Furudate Bots, had noticed his own frustrations about the android. Kenma knew he was defective, that he wasn't what Kuroo wanted in the first place and he tried so hard to change himself, to please Kuroo like he was made to. The only problem was Kuroo didn't want that, didn't _need_ that. He only needed Kenma, and right now he's _gone_ and Kuroo's losing his mind trying to find him.

His phone rings in his pocket and he picks it up, continuing to run.

" _Where the fuck are you?_ " he hears Bokuto's voice.

"I need to get the nearest robotics lab," Kuroo says.

" _What? Wh—_ "

"Just _tell me where it is_!" Kuroo screams.

" _Calm down! There should be one next to the park near the train station. But don't you think we should be waiting for—_ "

He ends the call without listening to the rest of what Bokuto needed to say. He knew Kenma was going to be there. He was gonna ask someone to repair himself, change a bunch of things in his software so that he could be the L-type robot he was supposed to be. 

But that wouldn't be Kenma, and he didn't want that.

" _Excuse me!_ " he exclaims as he enters the building. He's out of breath, and the person manning the front desk is looking up at Kuroo as if he were about to rob them. He collects himself, closing the door behind him.

"Sorry," he says, much more quiet this time. "Did a robot come here? Blonde hair up to his jaw, about a head smaller than me."

The person manning the desk seems to still be in shock, silently rising hand to point somewhere. He follows the finger and spots Kenma standing, his face in shock.

Kuroo could faint.

"Kuroo," Kenma exhales.

His legs move on their own, running to where Kenma is before he could stop them.

"What is Kuroo doing her—"

He clashes his lips against Kenma, warm and open-mouthed, wrapping his arms around the robot's waist to bring him closer. Kenma is stiff at first, but he can feel him slowly melt into Kuroo's touch, accepting Kuroo's kiss and reciprocating, completely disregarding anyone that could see them.

"Kuroo—"

"I've been looking for you _everywhere_ ," he says. collecting Kenma in his arms and placing his chin on his shoulder.

"K-Kuroo..," Kenma repeats, as if it's the only thing he can say, turning soft and rubbing Kuroo's back.

"Don't ever do that again," Kuroo says. "Don't you _dare_ leave me like that."

Kuroo's voice starts to break and he can feel the tears swell up in his eyes.

" _P_ _lease_."

Kenma pulls away to look Kuroo in the eyes, placing a hand on his cheek to wipe away his tears.

"Okay. Kenma won't ever leave Kuroo's side."

That seems to break Kuroo completely and his tears start to fall like a dam breaking. He buries his head on Kenma's shoulder, sobbing into the robot's shirt. Kenma almost freezes, unsure of what to do, all he does is bring a hand up to Kuroo's hair, gently stroking the black strands to offer solace. He doesn't realize tears are starting to fall from his own eyes.

"Sorry," Kenma sobs, "Kenma is so _sorry_."

Bokuto and Akaashi find them just like that, crying in each other's arms. They had only broken apart when Kenma's batteries had emptied, causing the robot to shut down. 

It was quite the chore to get the two of them home, but once they did, Kuroo had immediately set the robot in his bed and plugged him in. He thanked and apologized profusely to his two friends for putting up with him before they left.

"It's no problem," Bokuto had assured him. "I didn't know you'd love Kenma this much. If I did, I would've gotten you him sooner!" 

Love, huh?

He had slept next to Kenma that night, staring at the robot's seemingly unconscious state until his eyes let out. 

⚘

He had woken up the next day alone.

The space where Kenma had been was empty, making him shoot up from his spot on the bed immediately, fully awake. 

"Kenma?" he called out again. 

He got up, quickly making his way to the living room. There, he finds Kenma on the couch, idly playing on the Switch.

" _Kenma_ ," he exhales. 

"Kuroo's awake," Kenma simply says, as aloof as ever. "Kuroo seems distraught."

"You weren't there when I woke. It scared me for a second."

Kenma bites his lips at that, putting down the controller and looking up at Kuroo. 

"Kenma is sorry," he says.

Kuroo shakes his head, making his way to the couch to sit next to the robot. He faces him and grabs his hands.

"Don't apologize. If anything, _I_ should be sorry. I made you think I was gonna replace you, or something."

Kenma tilts his head, "Kuroo wasn't?"

"Never," Kuroo says, placing him in a warm embrace, "Kenma you're perfect."

The robot blushes at that, probably not used to Kuroo being so direct with him like this.

"B-But… Kenma is defective," he tries.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way," he presses. "I love you," he says, and he means it.

He can feel the robot freeze up.

"Kenma… doesn't know what that means."

Kuroo pulls away from the hug to find a bashful Kenma, avoiding eye contact and pouting slightly.

"Kenma thought that it meant that Kuroo wanted Kenma to please him at first. But… Kenma doesn't think it means that anymore."

Kuroo let's Kenma continue, staying silent for the robot to finish.

"Kenma's not entirely sure, b-but he thinks that it's the reason why Kuroo is so nice to Kenma. Nice enough to give Kenma that ice cream he really likes, or kiss him on the forehead whenever he thinks Kenma isn't awake."

The robot fumbles with the shirt, Kuroo notices is his, he's wearing now. 

"But the kindness isn't the same as to how it is for Kuroo's friends. It's not better, or worse, it's just _different_ … and Kenma likes how it's different."

If possible, the blush on Kenma's face reddens as he speaks. But he looks up at Kuroo then, a few strands of his blonde hair falling to the side of his face.

"Kenma doesn't really know what love is, but it's probably the reason why Kenma's heartbeat picks up whenever he sees Kuroo. Or how Kenma can't help but melt whenever Kuroo kisses him."

This time, it's Kenma that takes Kuroo's hands. They feel nice against Kuroo's skin, he can't believe it's a robot's. Not when they are so warm and familiar.

"Kenma thinks he's starting to understand, just a bit, that he loves Kuroo. And he wants Kuroo to love him, too."

And Kuroo has absolutely no words to add to that, because Kenma had said it all. The only thing he could do is close his eyes, closing the distance between them as if he'd been waiting for this the entire time. He's pretty sure the warmth he feels isn't from the morning sun that sheds through his living room windows, but from the robot in his arms, who, he's learned, he's starting to fall deeply in love with.

**Author's Note:**

> i am,,, not sorry
> 
> let's be friends on [twt](https://twitter.com/maqickal)


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